1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a structure of an outside door handle of a vehicle provided with an escutcheon.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional structure for an outside door handle of a vehicle, an insertion cylinder protrudes from an outer handle case (escutcheon) provided in a door outer panel towards an inside of the vehicle. Further, a key cylinder is inserted into the insertion cylinder.
In the structure of the outside door handle, a screwdriver may be inserted into a key hole of the key cylinder, and a force applied to thereby displace the key cylinder to a direction orthogonal to a shaft direction of the key cylinder, the key cylinder may be dislocated (i.e., displacement perpendicular to the shaft direction). Thus, a doorlock may be improperly released.
Thus, in order to prevent such an improper release, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. (Hei) 10-8793 discloses a preventive measure against burglaries. Specifically, a U-shaped engaging plate (key cylinder protection bracket) may be disposed at an outer side of the insertion cylinder which prevents the key cylinder from being dislocated by the U-shaped engaging plate (see pages 2 and 3 as well as FIG. 5).
Although the improper release of the doorlock caused by the insertion of the screwdriver into the key hole may be prevented, other types of improper releases may not be prevented. Because the escutcheon may be formed from synthetic resin, the doorlock may be improperly released by dislocating or destroying the key cylinder with a hammer from outside the vehicle.
Thus, the present disclosure is directed to providing an outside door handle of a vehicle capable of preventing an improper release of the doorlock caused by striking the key cylinder with a hammer or similar device.